“Chantilly, we have a problem”

After traveling through the vast void of space and floating amongst the heavenly bodies, astronauts must face a final challenge before returning safely to Earth: Re-entry.

Re-entry describes the process of passing through the atmospheric barrier that protects our planet, a process that generates tremendous heat on any object that attempts to penetrate it. Re-entry can be controlled, as when spacecraft come home, or uncontrolled, as when space junk experiences a destructive deorbiting. If re-entry by the astronauts is not done precisely, the primary risks are burning up, or skipping off of the outer layer of sky, back into space for all eternity. Re-entry is therefore a serious matter requiring concentration, planning, and deft maneuvering skills. Mistakes can be fatal.

Today is Re-entry Day for the Sherrier family. We have left the vast void and weightless euphoria of vacation, and have come into contact with the barrier – Sunday. Sunday – the one day that separates us from the familiar routines and gravitational pressures of a typical Earth week. We are now experiencing the friction and intense heat, and the heat is fraying the nerves of my fellow travelers. Fuses are short. Beads of sweat are gathering on furrowed brows. Piles of sand filled laundry are threatening to alter our carefully calibrated safe trajectory through the Sunday barrier. This is the most delicate part of our journey home.

Wish my companions and me “Godspeed” and good luck. Hopefully, the heat of our re-entry today will not incinerate the family bonds forged during our time in space.